War for Your Soul

The Devil got a boot on your neck?

When an enemy cannot beat you fighting overtly he must resort to guerrilla type warfare of subversion; destruction from the inside.  We battle as Christians.  Who is the enemy and what is at stake?

It is clear to us who the enemy is.  I think most of us are aware that our Enemy is scheming against us looking to devour us.  We know Satan is formidable.  We are warned sufficiently in the scriptures.  

But what does he want?  What is he contending for?  We often think of the lost.  Satan has blinded them, he is the ruler of this age and of the world: But only for a little while longer.  We contend through prayer and Word to awaken the lost, but what about us? 

Are our souls at risk? Do we have something to lose?  The tares say no.  The tares are those planted amongst us; the “useful idiots” referring to one used as a pawn in this celestial chess game.  They are used as religious fall-guys for Lucifer.  They use our terms and twist our theology.  This comes from theologians, pastors, elders, ministry leaders; Christian writers, magazines, radio, and TV.  The tares are listened to and given and equal voice amongst us Christians which is absurd.  Can’t we see?  Could you imagine setting up a debate between Satan and Jesus.  Why would we elevate the Devil to the height and glory of Christ?  Similarly we have permitted this subversive influence in the Church.  And as RC Sproll would state, it is the dominant voice in the Church today.  

The tares say “Do not worry.”  “Relax it was all done on the cross.”  “You are forgiven, you can’t earn it so you can’t lose it Brother.” They proudly expound.  “The Devil can do nothing to you.” they say.  With the poise of an actor they council “God wants you to be happy, comfortable, prosperous, and above all, never question your salvation.”

Can you see the danger?  Would Satan have in interest in telling you the same things?  Of course he would.  Everything mentioned has a lie tied to the truth.  Their words have a purposeful negligence of the whole truth.  Neglecting other important ideas leads you down the wrong path.  I’ve been mislead before.  My wife would give me information about one of my kids.  I would get on to them, and a few times I found out additional information which would have changed how I responded to my child.  How many times have you made choices that later on you regretted in light of newly found information?  Do you see what I mean?     

These are subversive internal battles.  They go unnoticed.  The tares work amongst us.  It is the ideas they give and perpetuate.  The unwitting and unaware are devoured.  They are misled to their destruction.

Look at how God warns us.  He teaches us that we battle with spiritual forces and there are plans being devised against us.  These enemies are waiting for the right moment to pounce.  He tells us to be strong and brave and awake.  He tells us to fight.  Remember He gave the Land to Isreal, then He said “fight;” “go get it and if you don’t you won’t get it!”  I could use an enormous amount of scriptures admonishing us to finish the race in faith and warnings to those who do not persevere.  Here are a few scriptures to put in our pipe and smoke.  

Heb 2:1-3  We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? NIV

Heb 3:6  And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. NIV

Heb 3:12-15 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. NIV

These are just the first three of many scriptures that warn us in the book of Hebrews.  We must employ the armaments of war as admonished by the scriptures.  This is our victory.  No one can take it from us.  So let us fight our battle and preserve our souls for the resurrection of the dead.  Employ Ephesian 6 warfare.